Balanced attack helps Lakers throttle Wizards

LOS ANGELES (Ticker) -- The Los Angeles Lakers have been making
a point of sharing the ball. Their opponents are having a
difficult time figuring out who to stop.

Andrew Bynum finished with 23 points and 14 rebounds, leading a
balanced attack as the Lakers cruised to a 117-97 victory over
the Washington Wizards on Thursday.

Los Angeles racked up a season-high 35 assists en route to its
fifth consecutive win over the lowly Wizards.

"We went out there today and moved the ball," Bynum said.
"Everybody got shots."

Pau Gasol scored 18 points and Lamar Odom added 16 off the bench
as six players scored in double figures for the Lakers, who
built a 25-point lead by halftime.

"We're going through a stretch right now where teams are trying
new things defensively against us to see what works," Lakers
guard Kobe Bryant said. "And we're making them pay."

With the Boston Celtics (36-9) defeating the Orlando Magic
(33-9) earlier in the day, the Lakers (34-8) regained the NBA's
best record based on winning percentage at .809.

Bynum strung together his second dominant outing in as many
nights, hitting 8-of-12 shots from the field and 7-of-8 free
throws. The big man was coming off a career-high 42 points and
15 rebounds against the Los Angeles Clippers on Wednesday.

"This year, for the first part of the year, I was kind of the
last guy up-and-down the court," Bynum said. "The team would be
taking off on offense I would be there three seconds after.
Now, I give myself more opportunities by being down there
early."

Bryant scored 11 points on 4-of-11 shooting and added five
assists in his second game since dislocating his right ring
finger Monday. The reigning MVP played just 28 minutes and sat
out the fourth quarter with the outcome all but wrapped up.

Wizards Coach Ed Tapscott was clearly impressed with the way the
Lakers - particularly their star - kept each other involved.

"I watch Kobe Bryant, who is clearly one of the most dominant
scorers in basketball today and maybe all-time, make sure that
every guy on the floor got shots," Tapscott said. "I watched him
when he could've taken shots at any time, but made sure his
teammates got shots so that they were in the game.

"I kept making that point to some of our young guys - watch how
they share the ball. So that is impressive team spirit that I
hope our guys were impressed by."

Antawn Jamison led the way with 19 points for the Wizards, who
suffered another defeat away from home. They are currently tied
with the Oklahoma City Thunder with a league-worst 3-17 mark on
the road.

"It's not a wasted season at all," Wizards forward Dominic
McGuire said. "Young players are getting valuable experience
right now, something we wouldn't be getting if we had everybody
on this team healthy."